Coffee
by CharlieSwagron
Summary: Kate's sitting at her desk, miserable and all alone ever since Castle's disappearance. She sees a hand with a cup of coffee come into her field of vision and thinks it's from Espo again. Only this time, it's not Espo handing her coffee. Alternate insert for 7x01 "Driven"


**A/N: This is for caskett-47-always on tumblr who posted in the Caskett tag, asking if anyone had done a story about Castle handing Beckett the coffee instead of Espo in 7x01 "Driven". I modified the prompt a tiny bit, but it's basically still the same concept.**

She was miserable. Nearly a week had gone by since the last time she'd found a lead on _anything._ Castle had been gone for a little over a month now, and she'd been spending every waking moment that she could sitting her at her desk, mulling over the possibilities of where he could've disappeared to and what had happened to him.

Sleep had become a luxury; eating was only done in necessity and even then she would only eat while pouring over evidence and old case files, trying desperately to find _something_ that would tell her where her fiancé was.

Staring at the stack of files perched on the corner of her desk, she suddenly felt angry. In an impulsive fit of rage, she forcefully shoved the pile away from her, papers and folders spilling everywhere on the floor. She was _furious._ How could this happen to them? What had they done to deserve this? She should've been married by now, Mrs. Kate Castle coming back from her honeymoon with a new tan and a glowing smile that she wouldn't be able to wipe off for months to come. He should be _here,_ with_ her_.

Glancing at the murder board, her eyes were drawn to the smiling, handsome photo of him. God, how she needed him back. It was difficult going back to the loft every night knowing full well that he wouldn't be there waiting for her; that he wouldn't just walk out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth and flop on the bed, wrapping her up in his embrace as they drifted off to sleep.

She missed the way he would touch her; the way his hands would rove over her, the way his lips would brush against every part of her skin, the way his tongue would trace the contour lines of her body. She wanted to feel him drive her crazy; make her writhe and thrash on the bed, tossing her head from side to side as she gripped the sheets in tightly closed fists trying not to float away. She missed how she would scream his name; gasp out curses until she went hoarse, until she temporarily lost her voice the next morning.

But perhaps most of all, Kate just missed _him._ The late nights spent curled up together on the couch, a glass of wine in their hands as they shared a blanket, her head resting lightly where his heart thumped softly in his broad chest. Obviously the precinct wasn't the same. Castle wasn't there to offer up crazy theories that would either be astoundingly spot on or completely missing the target.

Kate found no joy in coming to work anymore, or even going back to the loft. It was as if all the happiness she'd acquired over the past several years had suddenly vanished along with Castle. Gates had tried to convince her to see someone; to talk about what was going through her mind and how she was doing, but the detective had adamantly refused. Her reasoning: the time spent talking to someone about Castle's disappearance could be better utilized in trying to solve it. Gates had given her a knowing look, but subsequently let her get back to work. She had felt the boys staring at her when she had walked back to her desk and sat down, opening another old case file. She knew what they were all thinking and she could admit that they were right.

She was falling back down the rabbit hole again.

Only this time, there would be no way for her climb out except finding Castle…alive. She didn't even want to think about any other alternative.

Coming to her senses, Kate realized the mess she'd made with the files and sighed at the prospect of having to clean it all up, sorting the papers back into their original folders. She could feel a headache forming and set her elbows on her desk, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. The headache, she knew, was from caffeine withdrawal. Years upon years of downing the drink like it was going out of style had made her withdrawal go on longer than what was normal for most people. But she hadn't wanted to touch the stuff since Esposito's false alarm a few weeks ago.

How stupid had she been? Castle wouldn't have just shown up out of nowhere, offering her a cup of coffee in his hand. She'd let herself get hopeful and had been brought back down to reality crushingly fast. It nearly made her cry when she spotted coffee cup held out to her out of the corner of her eye just then.

"Espo, what did I tell you about that?" she growled. "I don't want any coffee."

"Since when?" an all too familiar voice asked her.

The second she heard it, she froze, all the air rushing out of her lungs. It wasn't Espo behind her, but she didn't dare turn around and have the possibility that it was actually _him_ crushed right in front of her.

"Kate?" she heard. "Turn around."

She shook her head vigorously, biting on her lip to keep the tears at bay. "No. I can't."

"It's me, Kate," he said. "Turn around."

"If I do then you'll just disappear like all the other times I thought you were here," she told him. She saw the coffee being set down on her desk and then felt her chair being slowly swiveled around. Before her chair had done a complete 180, she slammed her eyes shut.

"Open your eyes," he instructed gently. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her face as he knelt down to her level.

"What if you disappear?" she asked.

"I won't," he promised. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

Ever so slowly, Kate opened her eyes and was met with the most amazing sight she'd seen in over a month. Staring right back at her, were Castle's very blue eyes, shining bright with love and adoration. When she realized that this Castle wasn't one of her mind's hallucinations or mirages, she let out a sob and threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him on his ass in the process.

Castle wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and stood them up, both clinging to each other like there was no tomorrow. He could feel Kate's tears soaking his neck as she buried her face there. Her lips occasionally pressed a kiss to the side of his throat while he whispered "I love you" in her ear over and over again.

Neither had noticed the attention they'd garnered in their emotional reunion. The boys had come back from running down a lead on another case and saw the two wrapped up in each other.

"Yo, Castle!" Espo shouted from the elevator. "You're back, bro!"

Reluctantly, Kate and Castle released one another so that he could greet their friends. It was hard to stifle her laughter when Ryan practically launched himself into the writer's arms. There was always a reason she secretly called the younger man "Castle Jr." behind his back. If she and Castle were "Mom and Dad" then Ryan was definitely a daddy's boy.

"What happened, Castle?" Esposito asked him when all the hugs had been exchanged. "Where'd you disappear to and how'd you get back here?"

The writer exhaled deeply. "How about I tell you guys later? It's a long story and right now I kind of just wanna take my beautiful fiancée home and see my mother and daughter."

"Sounds like a good plan," Gates said from her office doorway. She'd heard a slight commotion and had peeked her head out the door to see what was going on. "As strange as this is for me to say," she began, sincerity written on her face, "it's good to have you back, Mr. Castle."

He smiled and looked around the bullpen. "It's great to be back, Sir."

"I'm sure it is," she added. "Now, Detective Beckett, I'm ordering you to go home and _stay home_ for the duration of the weekend."

"But, Sir," Kate protested. "It's only Thursday."

"Your point being?" Gates asked with an eyebrow raised. "You've been working yourself half to death this past month so I'd say that you deserve a few days off with your fiancé? Wouldn't you?"

Kate smiled for the first time since her life had come crashing down in May. "Yes, Sir. I would."

"Then it's settled. Oh, and…don't worry about this little mess you've created, Detective," she said, gesturing at the files still scattered on the floor. "I'm sure Detectives Ryan and Esposito can clean this up for you."

"Wha—" Espo squeaked in disbelief.

"Sorry, guys," Kate said sheepishly ducking her head. "I kind of lost it earlier."

Ryan looked at her sympathetically. "We understand, Beckett. Castle, take her home," he instructed the other man. "We'll see you guys on Monday." He bent down, picking up loose papers that had fallen out everywhere.

Bidding their goodbyes—and in Kate's case, another apology—the pair strode onto the elevator, her hand clasping his tightly as if she was afraid he'd suddenly vanish into thin air.

"You know," Castle said as he turned to her. "You never drank the coffee I spent a whole four dollars buying you."

"It's okay, Castle," she replied, a cheeky grin spreading across her face. "Now that you're here, you can just buy me another one tomorrow."

"You're damn right I can," he told her, leaning down and _finally _sealing his mouth over hers.

**A/N: It's been a little while for me since I've written a Caskett fanfic so go easy on me. Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you thought; I really appreciate any and all feedback I receive. I hope you enjoyed reading this and stay tuned for more stories to come throughout the season.**


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